Summer Hiatus
As the summer travel season begins I will be taking a break from this blog. I will be using the Twitter service instead. So, please join me in keeping up with events here:

http://twitter.com/portents

Please add this to your bookmarks and if you are on Twitter, please feel free to follow me and send me a direct message (DM) to let me know. I think it would be great to build a larger Bible prophecy community on Twitter. I also have several Twitter lists that you might be interested in following, lists devoted to world news and Bible prophecy.

Happy Canada Day to our Canadian visitors and happy Independence Day to our American visitors!

My Way News - Huge protests grip Syria; 14 killed in clashes
My Way News reports: "Hundreds of thousands of protesters flooded cities around Syria on Friday in what activists described as the largest outpouring against the regime of President Bashar Assad and a powerful message of the opposition's resolve. At least 14 people were killed in various clashes, activists said."

My Way News - China's communists mark 90th, hail party's success
My Way News reports: "Chinese President Hu Jintao celebrated the Communist Party on its 90th anniversary Friday for its ability to adapt and said it must use that skill to fight corruption and ease social conflict if it is to stay in power."

My Way News - Pakistan college contest: Praise for bin Laden
My Way News reports: "The poem and essay competition at the prestigious Punjab University shows the footholds of hard-line Islamists on college campuses and growing efforts to raise their profile and influence even in the relatively cosmopolitan atmosphere of Pakistan's culture capital, Lahore."

My Way News - Abbas might delay Palestinian unity government
My Way News reports: "Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas might put off the formation of a unity government with the Islamic militant group Hamas to avoid alienating his Western allies ahead of a U.N. vote on statehood, a senior PLO official said Thursday. Palestinian leaders apparently underestimated international opposition, particularly from the U.S., to any Hamas involvement in government and are afraid that will derail efforts to win the U.N. nod to establish a Palestinian state."

Comment: As many times as the U.S. has denounced Hamas as a terrorist group, it's hard to imagine they didn't anticipate the opposition to a unity government. So, no untity government, that' s a good thing. Still, I don't like the fact that they seem determined to push for a vote at the U.N. this coming September even after the U.S. and others have made it clear that this is not acceptable. I think September is shaping up to be a very important month.

My Way News - Rocket attack kills 3 American soldiers in Iraq
My Way News reports: "A rocket attack on a U.S. base near Iraq's border with Iran killed three American soldiers, an official said Thursday, blaming the strike on a Shiite militia linked to Tehran. The deaths came at the end of the bloodiest month for U.S. troops in Iraq in two years, and with just six months before the American military is scheduled to leave after more than eight years of war."

My Way News - Guard chief: Iran can build longer-range missiles
My Way News reports: "A senior Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander claimed on Tuesday that his country has the ability to produce missiles with an even greater range than those currently in its arsenal [...] The remarks came as Iran conducted a second day of large-scale military maneuvers, part of 10 days of war games that are the country's latest show of force amid a standoff with the West over Iran's disputed nuclear program."

My Way News - Iran: Space monkey next step in rocket program
My Way News reports: "Iran says it plans to send a monkey into space next month as the next step in a space program that Western leaders worry could also bring major advances in Iran's missile arsenal. The state-run news agency IRNA quotes the head of Iran's space agency as saying Monday that five monkeys are undergoing tests and one will be selected for the flight on a Kavoshgar-5 - or Explorer-5 - rocket."

My Way News - AP Exclusive: Palestinians ready to ease demands
My Way News reports: "The Palestinians are ready to ease their demand for a freeze on Israeli settlement construction to get peace talks back on track [...] The softened position reflects the Palestinians' growing realization that their alternative strategies to talks - reconciling with the Hamas militant group and seeking unilateral recognition at the United Nations - are both in trouble."

Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News - Palestinian UN envoy: Talks with Israel won't stop bid for state recognition
Haaretz reports: "The Palestinians will seek membership as an independent state at the UN in September even if peace negotiations with Israel are underway, the Palestinian UN envoy said on Thursday."

Comment: One report says that Palestinian plans to seek recognition at the UN are in trouble, the other report says plans are moving forward. I think it's safe to say that events are very fluid right now, stay tuned.

Reuters - Merkel: EU summit to strengthen euro zone stability
Reuters reports: "European Union leaders are expected to take decision at their gathering in Brussels which will strengthen the stability of the euro zone, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday. Merkel reiterated, however, no formal decisions on Greece are expected at the fourth EU summit this year."

Reuters - EU appoints Draghi to ECB, Bini Smaghi to leave
Reuters reports: "EU leaders appointed Italy's Mario Draghi as the next president of the European Central Bank on Friday and said another Italian would step down from the ECB's Executive Board early to smooth the process."

USATODAY.com - Magnitude-6.7 earthquake hits Japan
USA Today reports: "A magnitude-6.7 earthquake rattled northeast Japan early Thursday in the same area where a massive quake triggered a deadly tsunami in March, but there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage."

Reuters - Ocean life on the brink of mass extinctions: study
Reuters reports: "Life in the oceans is at imminent risk of the worst spate of extinctions in millions of years due to threats such as climate change and over-fishing, a study showed [...] Time was running short to counter hazards such as a collapse of coral reefs or a spread of low-oxygen 'dead zones,' according to the study led by the International Programme on the State of the Ocean (IPSO)."

Yahoo! News - Tsunami warning in effect for Alaska coastal areas
Yahoo! News reports: "The U.S. Geological Survey says a magnitude 7.4 earthquake has been recorded in the Pacific Ocean off Alaska's remote Aleutian Islands."

My Way News - Syrian troops push to Turkey border, villagers run
My Way News reports: "Syrian troops pushed to the Turkish border Thursday in their sweep against a 3-month-old pro-democracy movement, sending panicked refugees, including children, rushing across the frontier to safe havens in Turkey."

My Way News - Apple removes anti-Israel app from App Store
My Way News reports: "Apple Inc. says it has removed an application called 'ThirdIntifada' from its App Store following complaints that it glorified violence against Israel [...] The free application encouraged followers to share opinions and organize protests against Israel. It linked to a website that helped organize violent clashes with Israeli troops recently along Israel's frontiers with Lebanon and Syria."

Comment: So encouraging to see how the Palestinians are making use of technology to demonstrate how much they want peace with Israel. Right. Thank you Apple!

My Way News - Iran's judiciary detains Ahmadinejad's ally
My Way News reports: "Iran's judiciary Thursday detained a close ally of the president, another step in a power struggle that is sweeping the Iranian leadership, according to a report on the Iranian state television station [...] The arrest was the latest incident in a struggle involving President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the parliament and the powerful Iranian Muslim clergy."

My Way News - Obama: 30,000-plus surge troops leaving Afghan
My Way News reports: "Beginning to wind down a long and devastating war, President Barack Obama announced Wednesday night he was pulling home 33,000 U.S. troops from Afghanistan by next summer, withdrawing the 'surge' of forces he had sent to rescue a flailing effort. Said Obama to a country eager for an exit: 'The tide of war is receding.'"

My Way News - Pentagon gets cyberwar guidelines
My Way News reports: "Military officials have also warned repeatedly of cyberattacks and intrusions coming out of China, Russia and Eastern Europe. 'Regrettably,' Lynn said, 'few weapons in the history of warfare, once created, have gone unused. For this reason, we must have the capability to defend against the full range of cyber threats.' Lynn predicted that terror groups eventually will learn how to launch crippling cyberattacks."

Yahoo! News - Ahmadinejad loses fight over oil portfolio: parliament
Yahoo! News reports: "Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's plan to merge the strategic oil ministry into an enlarged energy portfolio has been 'cancelled,' the official parliamentary website said on Tuesday."

Comment: It's odd that our media still depicts him as a Islamic fundamentalist in line with the mullahs when apparently a split has occurred in Iran's domestic politics pitting the mullahs against his political circle, who are seen more as Persian nationalists than Islamists. Very odd development.

Yahoo! News - U.N. assembly approves second term for U.N. chief Ban
Yahoo! News reports: "The 192-nation U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday unanimously approved a second five-year term for U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon, who analysts and diplomats see as a solid ally of Washington. The former South Korean foreign minister, who took over as U.N. secretary-general from his predecessor Kofi Annan in 2007, was re-elected to the world body's top job by acclamation, effective next January 1 [...] All the regional groups of U.N. member states backed Ban, including the Latin American and Caribbean group, the last to officially endorse his re-election."

Comment: Nice to see him re-elected, he is the kind of SecGen that the world needs: low-key, cooperative, conciliatory, administrative. We don't have to worry about a world government power-grab with him at the helm.

Yahoo! News - Media: Israel sends hopeful letter to Turkey
Yahoo News reports: "Israeli media report Israel's prime minister has sent a letter to Turkey's leader expressing hope for improved ties. Israeli-Turkish relations deteriorated dramatically last year after Israel raided a Gaza-bound Turkish ship and killed nine activists on board. Each side blamed the other. It followed a series of tense exchanges between the two countries, once close allies."